August Glitter
by Yules
Summary: It's the last week of August, and Ulrich and Yumi have one last chance to make it count before school starts up again.


The sun shone brightly bright upon Yumi, highlighting her pale skin and the curving slope her nose. Her eyes also looked especially bright today. But then again, Ulrich thought, Yumi was always pretty. And more than that, unlike Sissi, she wasn't so brash about it.

They were currently ambling along in fairgrounds that had popped up temporarily for the last week of August. He couldn't help but think that it was already August, summer vacation was over, and he still hadn't done anything worthwhile. His dad had yelled at him numerous times, he hadn't given his application in for the football camp in time, and most of all, he'd had his computer taken away and was unable to contact Yumi all summer.

Of course, it being August, that mean it was really hot out. But that, he decided, was another thing he liked about Yumi. It was a welcome distraction from the unhappy thoughts that were currently plaguing him too. He admired how she wasn't afraid to be her own person and she didn't take crap. The only problem was that he didn't know how to tell her that and it only reminded him of the fights he'd had with his dad about being a failure.

He'd been strangely quiet all day, he knew. It was to the point that Yumi had even poked him earlier and asked what was wrong. In his opinion, it was a bit strange for a boy and a girl to go the fair without any other people and not be dating.

Yumi called over to him, unusually exuberant today. She effused, "Ulrich, get over here!" She waved at him, fingers glittering in the open air. She was standing in front of a...dart booth? Oh.

It wasn't his first priority but since she was calling to him so happily, he couldn't help but go over to where she was. The brightness of her personality seemed to radiate out which drew him to her even more. "What?" He hadn't meant it to, but it came out as more of a grumble than he'd have liked.

She frowned and he immediately felt bad. He was starting to regret coming along with her after all. "Sorry," He mumbled.

"Oh, no, it's fine." A grin smoothed over her face and she started explaining the basics of the dart game enthusiastically. Seriously. What was up with her today? How could she forgive him so quickly? Ulrich prided himself on knowing the ins and outs of Yumi 101 (and more), but this behaviour was not typical of her at all. In fact, it was more than a little unnerving. It was great, but downright weird.

"Anything wrong?" She asked.

"No, no." He muttered. Maybe it was just in his head.

A silence passed between them and he wondered if he'd said something wrong. Yumi was still smiling at him patiently though, so it couldn't have been that. Finally, she broke the silence. "...Do you not want to play this game?"

"Oh, sorry." He apologised for what seemed to be the millionth time today. She didn't appear to mind though and only handed him a dart. The booth worker nodded encouragingly, holding out her hand. Yumi handed her a few coins.

He picked up the red and white dart, holding it in position. His hand was poised to make the throw, the angle was exactly what it was supposed to be, and he was sure that small balloon in the corner would pop. He'd been too distracted to really hear what Yumi had been saying about the prizes, but the sign said that smaller balloons would earn bigger prizes.

And, like he'd predicted, the balloon popped with a satisfying smack. He wasn't really shocked, because it wasn't like it was hard to pop a balloon, but Yumi had the exact opposite reaction. She hugged the bear she'd chosen tightly to her chest, then put it down, with a frown on her face.

What was wrong now? He sighed. It seemed like he'd just been disappointing her left and right all day. He let people down when he didn't even mean to, just like his father liked to remind him. And that was why he was so surprised when he felt Yumi's soft lips on him.

He stood frozen on the hot summer day, sweat running down his back from being out in thirty-five degrees Celcius weather, but it was more than that. Every nerve felt fried and overworked. Because Yumi was kissing him. Yumi was kissing him even though he'd disappointed her all day, ignored her by accident many, many times, and was sticky from the summer-induced sweat. It sort of woke him up though. Because if Yumi was kissing him, he was only making her unhappy (yet again) by not kissing her back.

Feelings of disappointment soon forgotten, he wrapped his arms around Yumi and they stood together entwined on the hot summer day. She'd definitely made his last week before September worthwhile.


End file.
